


Fighting For

by magimage



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Study, F/M, i wanna say fareeha and ana but its way too broad for that, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:33:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26363488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magimage/pseuds/magimage
Summary: When Fareeha asks Ana what she fights for, Ana reflects on all the answers she's given before.
Relationships: Ana Amari/Fareeha "Pharah" Amari's Father
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5
Collections: Amari Appreciation Week





	Fighting For

**Author's Note:**

> another amari appreciation week one!! this is for protectors/warriors!!

“Mum… I’ve been meaning to ask… what are you fighting for?”

Ana pauses. It has been a while since she was asked that question. And the answer had been different each time.

*

“What are you fighting for?”

The enlister had barked that out at her after looking her up and down. Her slight frame among the bulked up men was quite the contrast and she had seen how they tried to hide their chuckle of disbelief. They clearly believed that she didn’t belong here, maybe had gotten lost on her way to a shelter.

They raised their eyebrow after she confirmed what she was there for. Their face hardened, scorn clear but they went on with questioning. They stared down at her from that desk, demanding an answer to their question. 

Was there an answer that made sure she got in? Even if she didn’t she would fight all by herself, any way she knew how but she didn’t want it to come to that.

But, at this point, was there any reason to lie? The world was falling around their ears. Their governments were failing. They needed people, manpower, _anyone_. 

Before she had believed that everything would be alright, they just had to hunker down, be patient-

There was no way she could believe that now.

Patience was a virtue that had served her well but she would not patiently wait to die. Not without a fight. Not without paying back every single life that they had taken from her. 

No family left. Nothing to lose.

She clenched her fists behind her back. She steeled herself, cooled her anger and grief with grim determination.

“For revenge.”

*

“What are you fighting for, Horus?”

The soldier before her looked young, far too young to be out here. He looked up at her with shining admiration, clear even through the exhaustion lined on his face. She would be more surprised if he had still looked baby faced given recent events.

The battles were always hard but it had been harder than usual recently. It felt like there were more omnics than ever; were they even making a dent in those forces? Did it even matter, how many they killed? Omnics could mass produce. Humans simply could not. 

She wondered if she should tell the truth. Revenge was as much a part of it as it had been at the beginning but things had been changing. She had found that she had skill with sniper rifles. All it took was a steady hand, the right angle, patience… 

She had come to enjoy it.

The wait. The tracking. The exhale that came with the single perfect shot. 

This was not the life that she had dreamed of when she was younger - vague plans of becoming a holovid star and later more concrete ones of trying her hand at nursing. This was far from what she had expected but it was an excellent fit. She couldn’t deny the rush that came with a felled enemy. 

The others had begun to recognise her for it. The more she hit, the more they whispered among themselves. Horus, they called her with admiration, for the tattoo on her eye. Her name was spreading, reaching the general populous as soldiers on leave spoke of her. 

No one dared to call her out directly, usually. She was a ‘real icy bitch’ apparently and she preferred it that way. She had a job to do, promises to herself to fulfil. She didn’t have time to comfort every weeping soul.

She wasn’t sure why she softened with this one. Maybe it was the openness, the genuine wonder that he came to her with. Maybe it was how clear it was that he shouldn’t _be there_.

As her notoriety grew, how many more wide-eyed soldiers just like him would ask her that question? Were they seeking inspiration for their own half baked reason? Just curious? Nonetheless, she tried to give him _something_.

She let her lip quirk into a half-smile that she hoped was somewhat reassuring. 

“It’s an interesting job.”

*

“Amari, what are _you_ fighting for?”

Of course, _that_ would be the question that the brass would ask her. No doubt, trying to veto whoever was accepted into the program. They couldn’t let just anyone get their hands on what they were offering. 

She had heard… rumours. About the abilities it gave soldiers. The farsight for the snipers in particular. That interested her.

She was at the top of her game. Who knew what she could do with that type of sight? 

They eyed her over their cushy desk, one tapping their finger in impatience. Assholes. She was almost sure she had been on more active duty than them. To think they could pin down her reliability with a single question was laughable.

What was even the point of this interview? To prove that she was sound of mind? She had already passed the psych _and_ the physical test! There was nothing they could sniff out alone. 

It would probably be simpler and quicker to just lie to them. Simpler still would be to tell a half-truth.

Her home would never be the same. It had already crumbled and she was just scrabbling for the pieces. But maybe if there was a way to put things together again after all the fighting… 

She gave them a tense smile. 

“To rebuild my country.”

*

“What are we even fighting for, Ana?”

It was one of those rare times that Gabriel looked truly lost. He was always so determined, purpose in every action he took. She had been wary of it at first, not thrilled to have to work with people she had never met but it quickly became clear how useful it was. His anger was a tool that he wielded for the perfect strikes. She could always count on that anger to get them through sticky situations.

This wasn’t anger.

This looked like giving up.

“We’ve been doing this shit for so long… so damn long… When does it end? What the fuck is the point?” He angrily wiped away a tear. “So many funerals that I couldn’t do shit about and I couldn’t even fucking turn up because I’m sitting my ass on the front line, not even pushing forward. What are we _doing_ here?”

It was hard to know what to say. She wanted to reassure. She wanted to tell the genuine truth. She wanted what he said to have no merit, be silly little worries that she could erase with a word and a genuine smile.

How do you fight against what was true?

She drew him into her arms tentatively, enfolding him completely when he leaned into her touch. His tears were quiet but she had no doubt that they were still there. If there was a way to fix this, she hoped someone showed her. 

For now, she would settle with what she whispered to herself to try to justify those hard nights.

“To make something better in the future.”

*

“Why do you still fight, Ana?”

She propped herself up on the bed with an elbow, gazing down at him. His face was nothing short of adoring. The bed hair did not make his curls look any less soft and downy; it only gave her the urge to ruffle it further. 

He was worried about her going back. Every good family of a soldier was. He saw the aftermath of one memory too many, knew that going back meant adding more to the already heavy load. It had been something he knew and accepted but not something he _liked_. 

Even with the acceptance, she still felt like she had to give a good reason to him. Of course, she wouldn’t stop for anyone, no amount of love could stop her from her calling but maybe if she gave something that could abate his worries…

Instead, she turned to a lighthearted joke, preserving the ease of their honeymoon morning.

“Gets me further from your morning breath.”

*

“Why do you fight, mum?”

Fareeha was perfect and innocent and growing every day at a rate that terrified her. It felt as if every time she came back on leave, she’d grown taller, learnt a new skill, made another step to being a bit more independent-

She was growing up without her.

It was silly, to wish a stop to the passage of time. It was what all children did - grow, change, learn. But it made Ana wistful for when she could hold Fareeha in one arm and procure a bottle in the other.

But when it came to her job… Fareeha was sucked in. She clung to the stories she told with a gleam in her eye, was ecstatic at the prospect of fighting lessons and ran around with toy guns and a bad aim.

Ana hoped it would _stay_ as just toy guns. Fareeha was fascinated with the idea of serving but it was only the _idea_. The battlefield was nothing like the games.

She had to make sure her answer didn’t encourage her to end up there. All parents had to lie to their children to keep them safe and happy, at least a little. This was for her own good.

“I didn’t have much of another choice.”

*

“Why do you fight, Shrike?”

The man’s bloodied face glared up at her. He clearly had not appreciated being tied up or beaten but she hadn't exactly appreciated being chased out of an optimal perch and having to go for hand to hand combat again so it felt even. 

The adrenaline from the fight was leaving, seeping out of her slowly. She focused on the thudding of her own heart, turning the question over in her mind idly as she waited for Helix to arrive and pick him up. 

Overwatch was gone. Gabriel was gone. Jack was gone. Liao was gone. She could never go back to Sam. Fareeha was a grown woman now who didn’t _need_ her. There was nothing left to fight for. 

It would make sense to put down her rifle and become what the world believed her to be.

She titled her head up to the sun.

“It’s all I know how to do.”

*

She smiles at Fareeha. Her grown girl who had accepted her into her life again. Who was a fierce fighter who felt the same call that she had before. She didn't like it. 

But she could accept it.

She wasn’t the same revenge stricken girl or cold-hearted sniper or new commander or loving wife or caring mother. She hoped, she prayed, that she was something better. 

At least she had finally reached an answer that she was fully content with.

“To protect.”

**Author's Note:**

> i wont lie, i wrote this in a few panicked hours. i know I missed a lot of times and kinda wish I had more time but... really wanted this out on the right day.
> 
> thanks for reading!! comments and criticism is appreciated!!


End file.
